A Flower in her Hair
by Charlie O'Kelley
Summary: Castle and Beckett take a walk through Central Park after she gets out of the hospital.  Spoilers up to season 3 finale.  I wrote this whole story just to use one special line.  Explanation on special line in part two which is now posted. Now complete.
1. Chapter 1

A Flower in her Hair

It was a beautiful day, a day that made me happy to be a New Yorker. It was warm without being hot, a slight breeze was blowing and the scent of flowers was in the air. Even better was the woman walking beside me, her arm lightly in mine. Three weeks ago, Kate Beckett was nearly taken from me and that terrified me. She is still healing and still had a long road ahead of her but she was going to make it. And that made the day that much more perfect.

This was our first trip anywhere other than the doctor's office since her injury. We had just gotten back from the doctor's where many of her restrictions had been lifted as we expected so we decided to celebrate a bit. She obviously still couldn't go back to work but she did have some more freedom at least. She had been staying at the loft with Alexis, Mother, and I but she had mentioned wanting to go back to her apartment soon. Unfortunately, the doctor said that would be okay.

In fact, we had a bit of a disagreement over that last night. Alexis had solved that disagreement for us by suggesting that she stay over at Kate's and have a slumber party. Even though I hated to let her go, I knew that at least having Alexis close to her would make me feel better. My arm unconsciously tightened on hers and she looked up at me with a slight frown. Not wanting to ruin this walk, I simply patted her hand and kept walking. Kate was still looking at me when we both heard the sound of bells. Momentary confusion passed over her face and mine until we realized it was the ice cream guy. Having learned that her love of ice cream rivaled my own, I simply asked, "Chocolate?"

She just nodded then slipped her hand from my arm and went to a nearby park bench. I headed over to the ice cream guy and got in line behind a bunch of kids. I kept my eyes on Kate as I inched forward in the line and I was soon lost in thought, all of them focused on the woman sitting on the bench just down the path. Almost a month ago, we had our biggest fight yet and I truly thought we were through, all because I was a coward and couldn't actually tell her my feelings. Kate was hell bent on chasing Lockwood even at the expense of her own life. I told her that she should at least think about what the people who love her would think if something happened to her. I mentioned her dad first because obviously he wouldn't take it well. I lost my nerve then when I had the perfect opportunity to mention my feelings for her but I didn't. I mentioned Josh instead.

I really should have listened to my mother when she said to not waste any time but I was afraid. I was, and still am, in love with Kate Beckett but I was, and still am, terrified that I would lose what it is that we already have. As I told Mother, months ago, it's not about the books anymore. I can write the last Nikki Heat book with no problem, I have enough research, I could even write several more. I didn't need to come back after last summer for more research but I did need to come back for Kate. I knew that she was with Demming and I was with Gina then but I needed to have Kate in my life, in some way, any way. Gina didn't understand this need but then again, I can't blame her. She was always a bit jealous of my reputation, which ironically, she had helped cultivate.

I knew that Kate and I had something special, something that I most certainly had never felt before. I do regret that I hadn't told her before she was shot and bleeding in my arms though. I am not even sure if she heard me. Well, I know that she heard me, she smiled just a tiny bit before she passed out, but I just don't know if she remembered. I know something had changed in the past few weeks but then so much had happened, things were bound to change.

I moved forward a bit in the line and made a decision. I was going to have to tell Kate again how I felt, how I feel. I smiled slightly thinking about it and realizing that it didn't scare me this time. In these last three weeks, Kate has rarely left my side and I can tell that my feelings are understood and very possibly reciprocated. Even if she didn't remember my words, she has to know from my actions since I spoke them.

I had done a lot of things to try and make her feel safe and secure since she was shot. The first of which was to bring her back to my place to recuperate. The second was to tell her that I had been keeping something from her. I had been trying to keep everything as positive as I could and that was hard when Esposito came to the hospital one day and told me that they had a lead on the shooter. I knew that they were going to go and take care of it and I realized that Kate did not need to know anything about it. She needed to heal and she wouldn't be able to do that if she was constantly worried about her friends. A couple of days later, Lanie came in to sit with Kate and I could tell that something was bothering her. I finally found out when we gave Kate and the nurse some privacy. Lanie told me that the boys were after the Dragon. They hadn't told me that the shooter had given them a name before he died and they finally got what they needed to take the mysterious Dragon down.

The boys had come in later that evening and seeing that Kate was rather sleepy they decided to not say anything at that time. Kate was discharged late the next day. I knew that she was exhausted so I decided to hold off on sharing the news until the following morning. It didn't work that way though once she lay down; she asked if it was safe for Alexis to be in the same place as her. I sighed. I should have realized that she would be concerned for Alexis' safety. I knew that she wouldn't get any decent sleep while worrying so I told her everything. Kate didn't look terribly pleased with me when I confessed but I think she understood why I did what I did.

Her tears caught me a bit by surprise but I just stretched my feet out on the bed and pulled her into my arms and let her cry on my shoulder. At first, I thought she was mad at me but with the way that she was holding me tightly and not fighting me, I soon realized that she was crying because it was all over. The next morning, we woke up still wrapped in each other's arms. Neither of us said anything about it but that wasn't the last night that happened.

I was next in line when I heard a chuckle from the man in front of me. "My little girl, never met a stranger," said the man who just got his own trio of ice cream cones.

"My little girl was like that at that age too," I said following his gaze. I saw an adorable little girl talking to Kate and hand her a flower. Kate smiled gently and tucked the flower behind her ear, bringing a big smile to the little girl's face.

"Are you here with your little girl?"

"No, she's nearly all grown up now. I'm here with," I paused for a moment not sure how to proceed. Kate wasn't just a friend but she wasn't my girlfriend, yet. "With my Kate."

"Your Kate?" he said with a smile.

"Yes, she's talking to your daughter," I said as her eyes met mine and her smile widened. "She's the smile with the flower in her hair."

End part 1 of 2


	2. Chapter 2

Kate's POV

Just a comment on the last line on the previous part. Several people commented on that line and that is actually the line that created this entire story. My son was looking through his yearbook and pointed out one of the girls in his class that he likes. He smiled and said "This is her, she's the smile with the flower in her hair." I just thought that was so incredibly sweet and I knew that I needed to do something to share that line so I could remember it much longer.

* * *

><p>I was walking arm in arm with Rick Castle through Central Park. Part of me, the much denied fangirl part, would always be shocked by that but the rest of me wasn't surprised. I had learned so much about him in the past three weeks. Four weeks actually. I had learned an awful lot after that big fight of ours. He wanted me to walk away from the whole thing but there was no way that I could do that. Not when I was that close. I knew that there was a chance that it would end badly but it was a chance that I was willing to take to catch my mother's killer. I think Rick knew that there was no way that he would be able to talk me out of it so he tried to use guilt. If I wasn't concerned about Lockwood hurting me, for me then I should be concerned for the people who loved me.<p>

I almost agreed with him. I thought about my father and how anything happening to me would probably kill him. Then Rick had to go and mention Josh. I know that Rick had been jealous of him for a while; I did kind of spring Josh on them all without any warning. Of course, Rick would probably feel that way about any man I date. Rick just had no way of knowing that Josh and I were through. I had been so sure that it was over when he told me he was going to go to Haiti, but then he came back for me. I knew that we had a chance. Things were great between us for a bit until he got a call to go somewhere else. Usually, doctors don't go that often on missions but since he was a cardiac specialist, he was in high demand. So he went to some third world country to help fix a little girl's defective heart, while he left me here and broke mine.

Rick's hand tightened on my arm and I looked up in concern. He didn't say anything, he just patted my hand and kept walking. I was still looking up at him wondering what was going through his mind when I heard bells. We looked at each other in confusion when we realized it was the ice cream guy. He simply verified what flavor I wanted and after making sure that I was settled on a nearby bench, he went to go stand in line. I was glad that there was a bench because I was getting tired. I didn't want to tell him that though, I was having such a good time being outdoors and in his company. True that I've barely left his side for three weeks, I still enjoyed his company. I watched him as he got in line behind a whole group of kids, this was going to take a while.

I could tell that Rick was lost in thought again, he had that pondering look on his face that I rather liked. His face can be so very expressive, but I don't think that I will ever tell him that. If for no other reason than I don't want to see him try to hide it behind his poker face anymore. Poker is the one time that I have trouble reading him but I am doing better even then. He dropped his usual poker face that night in my apartment when we had our fight. After Rick mentioned Josh and not himself, I got mad at him. Really mad. We had been dancing around the issue of us for so long and even when he had the chance, a perfect chance, he didn't say anything. He said he was my friend but I could finally see in his eyes that he felt much more than that.

I have to wonder what would have happened that night and since, had he been able to say what his eyes told me. I sighed. It didn't really matter what might have happened because we will never know. The things he said after that, though painful, were necessary for me to hear. He was right. About so many things. I was afraid of what would happen if I ever did find my mother's killer. I became a cop because of that; that was my main reason for doing nearly everything, what or I should say, who would I be if that reason is gone? What he had said had hurt and I had kicked him out of my apartment and I thought my life.

That whole fight became a moot point though when he came to the hanger and saved my life. I don't really know why Montgomery even asked me to come out there since I left before Lockwood and his men even saw me. I guess that he needed to come clean about his past and explain everything to me. Honestly, I am glad that he did, even if I had to hear the gunshots that took his life in exchange for mine. At least that way, I was able to say goodbye. The guys weren't given the chance and they both were still feeling rather betrayed about what had happened.

That of course, led up to the funeral and the shooting. Rick hadn't left my side for days in the hospital and I found out later that there were guards outside as well. I was surprised to see no precautions taken at the loft when Rick too me there once I was discharged from the hospital. I figured that if nothing else, he would have bodyguards to make sure that Alexis was okay. I had been exhausted by the time I was lying in Rick's bed. He had given up his bedroom for me so that I wouldn't have to deal with the stairs. I thought that he was going to leave and let me take a nap but then he sat on the edge of the bed and told me it was all over. Esposito had taken out the shooter and the dying man had given up the name of the Dragon.

I was a little upset that no one had told me when it all had happened and now I understood the strained looks between some of my friends in the past few days. The more that I thought about it though, I knew that Rick was trying to protect me by keeping that news from me though. If I had known that Ryan and Esposito were on their own chasing this Dragon, I would have been beside myself with worry. Once again, Rick seemed to know the best thing for me. That was the first night that we slept together. Obviously not in a sexual way. I had cried on his shoulder for such a long time and I don't think that either of us intended to fall asleep holding each other, it just happened. And that wasn't the only time either.

The past two weeks at the Castle loft had been interesting to say the least. I never knew what was going to be happening but it was a lot of fun. Rick and I still bickered about the little things like what movie to watch and what to order for dinner but we didn't have any real fights. Until last night. We talked about my appointment that I had today and I had made an offhand comment about maybe being able to go back to my apartment if the doctor said I could. Rick didn't seem to take too kindly to that idea. Luckily, Alexis stepped in before it got too heated. She volunteered to stay over at my place with me to help out if I needed anything. I looked between the two Castle's and finally agreed to it when I saw the innocent gaze from the younger Castle and the gratitude on the older Castle's eyes. There was no way that he had asked his daughter to do this, it was obviously the girl's idea.

I truly had enjoyed spending time with the Castle's but I needed to do some thinking on my own. I needed to decide what to do with the rest of my life. I had become a cop to help others get the closure that I hadn't until now. I knew that I would probably never give up the badge but I needed to think of all my options. Things would be very different now. I wanted to try to figure all of this out soon because I also needed to figure out just what all was happening with Rick. I hadn't said anything to him about his little confession that he made after I was shot but I thought about it often.

"Hi," I suddenly heard a little voice beside me say.

"Hello," I replied seeing a little girl holding a flower. I looked around and saw her mother walking up quickly to catch up to the child.

"I'm sorry," the mother said.

"Oh, she's not a problem," I assured the mother.

"Lyla here has never met a stranger."

"Hi Lyla, I'm Kate. Do you know that you shouldn't walk up to strangers?"

"But I know who you are now so you aren't a stranger," she said with kid logic.

"That's true but you really need to be careful. It's okay for you to come up to me since I am a police officer."

"Really?" asked the curly haired little girl.

"Yep. See," I said as I pulled out my badge to show her.

"See Lyla. You need to be more careful, like I have told you repeatedly," insisted her mother.

"But it's okay since she's a police officer," Lyla said, again with her kid logic. I had to fight to not smile at that.

"Did you know I was a police officer when you walked up to me?" I asked the girl gently.

"No," Lyla said lowering her head. "Why aren't you dressed like a police officer?"

"Well, Lyla. I've been on leave," I said then noticing her slightly confused look I explained. "I've been on vacation. I got hurt and I have to wait until I'm all better to go back to work."

"Did a stranger hurt you?"

"Yes, actually he was a stranger."

"Did you put him in jail?" Lyla asked. I glanced up at her mother then replied.

"He's not going to be able to hurt anyone else now."

"Good. Would you like my flower?" she asked holding a pretty yellow flower out to me.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," she replied in a very grown up voice causing me to smile. "Can I tell you something?"

"Sure," wondering what the child was going to say next.

"My daddy is getting us all ice cream."

"He is? You are so lucky. My friend is getting me some too. He's the tall man in the blue shirt talking to your daddy."

"How do you know that's my daddy?" she asked surprised.

"He's the only other adult standing in line, silly," I said as I leaned down to tweak her nose causing her to giggle.

"Is he your husband?"

"Lyla," her mother warned.

"It's okay. No, he's not my husband. He's my partner."

"So you love him," the little one said again in her mature voice. I sat there not exactly sure what to say when her mom interrupted my thoughts.

"One of her friends in kindergarten has two moms and she knows that they are partners."

I simply nodded thinking about how it's funny that kids really do say the darnedest things. I tucked the flower behind my ear and looked over to see Rick staring at us. I suddenly knew that everything would be okay. I wasn't able to hold back my smile as I watched him smile in return.

"Yes, sweetie, I do love him."

FIN


End file.
